Automatic cage-safety.



J. L. CLARKSON.

AUTOMATIC CAGE SAFETY. v

APPLICATION FILED JULYZB, 1914.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

| l 1 1 111111111111 1 l111l111 @wi/hamac o.. WASHINGTON n C J. L. CLARKSON.

AUTOMATIC CAGE SAFETY.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY28. 1914.

1,1 50,341 Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

1. L. CLARKSON,

AUTOMATIC CAGE SAFETY. APPucA'TloN F|LEDJULY2S,1914.

Patented Aug. 17, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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COLUMBIA PLANOGRAx-H C0..wAsHlNGToN. n. c.

' J. L. CLARKSON.

AUTOMATIC CAGE SAFETY.

APPLICATION FILED IuLYz, I9I4.

1,150,341. Patented Aug. 17, I9I5.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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CDLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0..wAsHlNGTON. D, c,

1 insonni.

AState of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Cage-Safety, of which the following is a specification.

My invention Vrelates to new and useful improvements in lsafety automatic car stops such are are employed generally in mining equipment, and are particularly used in connection with the lift cages by means of which the pit cars are carried from the working' level to the surface. Y

The principal object of my invention is to provide novel actuating mechanism` for automatically controlling the movement of the stops into operative or inoperative position.

i further object is to Vprovide a controlling mechanism for the horn stops which is normally held by yieldable means in operative position fcrpreventing movement of a pit car on the cage carried section of the track until the cage has been lowered or raised to the desired predetermined position; "A still further object is to so construct the horn stop controlling mechanisml that the stops will be automatically moved into inoperative position to permit the passage of a pit car from the cage when the cage has been lowered to the bottom ofthe shaft, and will automatically return the stops to operative position simultaneously with the movement of a loaded pit car onto the cage platform. v f

rThe above and additional objects Yare acN complished by such means as are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, Vdescribed in the following specification, and then more particularly pointed out in, the claims,

which are appended hereto and form a partv of this application. n

lVith reference to the drawings, wherein there has been illustrated the preferred einbodiment of this invention as itis reduced to practice, and throughout the several views of which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts, Figui-e1 is an end elevation of a lift cage,sl iowing the automaticallyV operatedstops 1n operative position. In this view there appears in the lower portion a solid line illustration of the cage in position `at the bottom of a shaft 4and with the stop members disposed in in'.-

v Speceatonof Letters Patent.

Appiicatin sied 11113728, 1914,

Patented- Aug. 1? 19155. semaine; sacse.

operative position, whilein the upper portion of the ligure is disclosed a dotted line illustration `of the cage litted` from the sump blocks of the mine shaftk and showing the stop members in operative position; Fig. 2 isa section on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Fig, 8 isa composite view showing the actuating mechanism employed in automatically controlling the movement ofthe stop members, the various elements of the mechanism being shown iny disassembled relation but being arranged to indicate the manner in which they are y adapted to be assembled when in use; Fig. i is a detail view taken longitudinally of the operating shaft by which the horn stops are actuated and showing in detailtheconstruction of the clutch; Fig. la is a section on the line 5*-5 of Fig, l. Fig. 5,is a view of a modified form of my invention in side elevation showing particularlyra pair of additional stops which I may use in connection with the horn stops and disclosing also a manually operable clutch releasing mechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view 4of the clutch releasing mechanism. F ig; 7 is a detail perspective view of one ofthe stops shown in Figf,

showing in connection therewith a manually controlled lever and an automatic winding drum `which are employed in moving the said stop into inoperative position.

- In the drawings, I have illustrated the stop*A mechanism as applied to a lift cage l() of thetype employed in mines. The cage lO is of the usual construction, and, since itrdoes not form a part of this inventiom has been illustrated conventionally.` A pair of rails, indicated at 1l and 12 are, of course, laid-on the floor of thecage to receive the' cars which are being raised or lowered.

A pair of stop members, designated as entireties in the drawings by the numerals ll and 14, are pivotally mounted en pins l5 which-are carried by suitable brackets 16. 'lhe brackets are, of course, secured to the floor ofthe cage IOJin any desired manner, and are so `positioned that the members 13 and 14 maybe swung to a position over the rails ll and l2 or may be swung outwardly, as shown in the lower portion 'of Fig. l, to permit thefreepassage of the car wheels on the tracks 21S. when an empty car is being displacedV from the cage. 'lhe horn stops 13 and Il are connectedat their lower terminals to a; pair of operating links 17- and 18 respectively bypi-vot pins 19.

ably, as shown in Fig. 3, the terminals of the rock arm 21 are equipped with spaced apertured ears 23 which pivotally receive the reduced terminals 24 of the links 17 and 18. l

From the foregoing description, it will be VreadilyV appreciated that the rotation of the shaft 22 in one direction will operate to swing the stop horns 13 and 14 into opera tive position over the rails 11 and 12, while the opposite rotation of the shaft 22 will swing the stop horns outwardly to permit the passage of the Wheels of a car on the track,as,shown in the lower portion of F ig.

1. The stop horns 13 and 14 are normally l held in operative position over the rails 11 and 12 by means of a counterpoise or weight 25 which, as shown in F ig. 3 particularly, is carried by a rod 26, the upper terminal of which is secured'to the shaft 22 by an attaching plate 27.

inasmuch as the stop horns 13 and 14 are normally held inoperative position over the rails by the weight 25, it is, of course, necessary to provide means for automatically swin 'inO them into ino Jerative osition when the cage reaches the bottom of the mine shaft so that the empty car being lowered may be quickly displaced from the cage to permit the operators to run a loaded car onto the cage. For this purpose acrank 30 has been provided. This crank is substantially l.'.shaped, having its lower terminal bent to extend at right angles, as indicated at 31. @n the upper terminal of the crank 30 is formed al sleeve 32 which is freely mounted on the forward terminal `of -the shaft 22, being held against complete withdrawal therefrom by means ofn'uts or similar fastening devices, indicated at 33. ln-

,asmuch as the sleeve 32 of the crank 30 is freely mounted on the shaft 22, it is necessary to provide some means whereby the sleeve may be held against rotation when the cage is being lowered to the sump block. For this purpose I have provided a clutch 1 member 34 which is mounted slidably on the shaft 22 so as to rotate therewith in the manner best shown in Fig-4, kClutch teeth, indicated at 35, are formed on one terminal of the clutch 34 and are engageable with clutch teeth 36 formed on the terminal of the crank sleeve 32.

Inasmuch as the clutch member 34 is bound to rotate with the shaft 22, it is obvious that when the clutch is in engagement with the sleeve 32 the crank 30 will be in mine shaft the shaft-22 will be swung to draw the links 17 and 18 inwardly, moving i the horn stops 13 and 14 into inoperative position result of theV engagement of the member 31 with the sump block, indicated by the numeral 37. The upperv terminal of the sump block is cut to produce the concave o-r-cam edge 38. In order to normally hold theV clutch 34 in engagement with the crank sleeve 32, so that the Acrank will be normally fixed on the shaft 22, l have provided theclutch spring 39. This clutch spring bears against the rear terminal of the clutch 34, being held against move-v ment on the shaft 22V by a stop collar 40, as shown in F ig. 3.

As a meansY for accomplishing the automatic return of the stop members 13 and 14, I have provided a trip Vlever 41 which is pivoted to a suitable bracket 42 depending from the floor of the cage. This trip lever 41 is in the nature of a substantiallyyshaped bell-crankl` lever, the one arm of which is bent to produce a. lateral extension 43, which is adapted to be engaged by the flange of the car wheel, as shown in F ig. 1. The arm 44 of the trip lever is provided with an offset apertured ear 45 to which is secured one end of a clutch chain 46. vThe other terminal of this chain 46 is, `of course, secured to the clutch member 34 by being attachedrto an eyelet or similar device 47.

It will be apparent that after the cagehas` been lowered into the mine shaftand the crank member 30 by engagement with the sump block 37 has swungY thehorn stops 13 and 14 into open position, that'the weight 25 has been swung upwardly to abnormal position, and that the weight will swing downwardly by gravity to extend the links 17 and .18 and, consequently, return the stops 13 and 14 to operative positionas-soon as `the clutch 34 has been disengaged from the p Y Y Obviously then the oncoming f sleeve 32. loaded car willjby the engagementL of its wheel flange with the lateral extension 43 of the trip lever swing this lever so that the chain 46 will be drawn forwardly withrthe resultant sliding of the clutch 34 on the shaft 22. The slidingof the clutch willdisengage the teeth 35 thereof from the teeth 3G and' from the crank sleeve andas soon as theV teeth are disengaged the member 25 will swing downwardly by gravity, thus Vmoving the rock arm 21 to normal horizontal position. YIn this manner-the move! ment of the loaded carV onto the cage automatically disengages the clutch 34 from the cranksleevev32, permitting thelweight 25 to return the stop horns 13 and 14 to operative position.V i Y f From theforegoing 'description it will be observed that as soon-as the lift cage reaches the bottom of the shaft the crank member 30 will byV engagement with the sump block which may be provided to hold the pair of stop arms or bars OVand 51 which are pivoted intermediate their lengths on pins 52 to the longitudinally extended vertically disposed supporting plate 53 which is properly mounted on the platform of the lift cage. The lower terminals` of these stop arms 50 and 51 project through slots formed in the lift cage platform and are connected at their lower terminals to a pair of retractive helical springs 54 and 55. The lower terminals of these springs 54 and 55 are secured by an eyelet or similar fastening device 56 to one of the rollers 56 of the lift cage. Thus it will be seen, by referring to Fig. 5, that the upper terminals of the members 50 and 51 are normally held so that they may engage against the sides of a dog 57 which is secured to thebottom of the car indicated at 58, and" extends transversely thereof. Assuming that the car is pushed onto the lift cage in the direction indicated by the arrow marked 59 in Fig. 5, it will be obvious that the dog will first engage the free upper terminal of the member 50 depressing the same against the tension of the spring 54. Having passed overthe free terminal. ofthe member 50 the dog will engage the upper terminal of the second stop arm 51 and will thus be held against further movement across the lift cage. Simultaneously with engagement of the dog 57 with the member V51 the spring 54 will act to return the upper terminal -of the member 50 to its former position in which Ait engages against the dog. Obviously, therefore, the car having been pushed on the platform may be held against displacementtherefrom by the stop arms 50 and 51, even if the horn stops should be broken or for any other reason should fail to work. 'lf desired, the stop arm 51 may be manually controlled as by a bell-crank lever 60 which is pivot'ed to a vertically disposed Vbracket 61 carriedv by thelift cage platform. it will be seen that by depressing the handle 62 ofthis lever the upper terminal of the stop arm 51 may be swung downwardly into inoperative relation to the dog so that the car may be pushed from the lift cage when the latter is in dumping position at the sump block.

lt will be apparent, however, that *itV is desirable to automatically disengage the member 51 from the dog so that under normal conditions when the lift cage is lowered to dumping position the stop arm 51 as well as the horn stops will be moved into inoperative positionl permitting the car to be pushed from the cage. For this purpose, therefore, l. have connected the upper terminal of the stop arm 5l to a winding drum 63; on the shaft 22 by means of a cableor chain 64. It will be apparent that when the Vlift cage is lowered to dumping position and the crank 30 engages the sump block the shaft 22 to which the drum 63 is attached will be rotatedin the manner hereinbefore described, causing the cable 64 to be wound onV the drum and resultantly withdrawing c the upper'terminal of the stop arm 51 from engagement with the dog.

rlhe above described automatic withdrawing of the stop arm 51 from engagement with the dog is desirable, of course, underall normal conditions7 but in case the cage is returned to dumping position after having Vbeen only partially lifted, it is undesirable that either the stop arm 51 or the horn stops be withdrawn from operative position. As

previously explained the horn stops and, as will now be apparent, the stop 51, may be maintained in operative position by releasing the clutch 34 at the moment the crank 30 engages the sump block. For this purpose, therefore, l have provided at the loading platform a clutch releasing device shown particularly in Fig. 6. This device includes a hand lever 65 which is pivoted at its lower terminal as in Fig. 5 to a convenient portion of the loading or sump platform 66 and is freely connected intermediate its length by a link 67 to an L-shaped arm 68. rlhis arm 68 may be slidably mounted in suitable guides which can be attached to the loading platform. Y F rom the platform of the lift cage there depends a bracket69 to the lower terminalV of which is pivotally connected, as by a pin 70, the lower terminal of an arm 71.

intermediate the length of this arm 71 there Y is rigidly secured a horizontally disposed arm` 72 which is of such length that it will be engaged by the vertical portion 7 3 of the member 68 when the lever 65 has been swung to project this member 68 into the pit. A chain indicated at 74 is employed in connecting the arm 71 to the clutch It will -thus be seen that if the tipple man signals the engineer to return the cage bearing a loaded car to the loading platform, he V(the sump man) may cause the clutch 34 to be released immediately upon the engagement of the cranks 30 with the sump block, thus bringing the weight 25 into action so that the horn stops 13 and 14 and member 5l will be immediately returned to operative posi- `The stop members 50 and 51 and the controlling mechanismy therefor may be eliminated, but I prefer to employ them as the vthat the form of this invention illustrated in the drawings, and referred .to in the above description as the preferred embodiment, is the most el'iicient and practical; yet, realizing that the conditions concurrent with the adoptionof this device will necessarily vary, it is desirable to emphasize the fact that various minor changes in details'of construction, proportion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, when required, without sacrificing any of the advantages of the in`- vention, as dened in the appended claims.

Having thus described the inventiomwhat is claimed as new isz- V l. In a safety apparatus, the combination with a lift cage having a track section, and av landing having a sump block, of a stop member on the cage, means for normally holding the stop in closed position over the track, means on the cage engageable with the sump block for automatically moving the stop member into open position when the cage engages the landing whereby an empty car lowered in the cage may be displaced therefrom, and means on the cage actuated by a car moving onto the cage track for effecting return of the stop member to closed position. Y

2. In a safety apparatus, the combination with a lift cage having a track section, and a landing having a sump block, of a stop member, means for normally holding the stop in closed position over the track, means engageable with the Vsump blockfor automatically overcomingV the first-mentioned means to move the stop to open position simultaneously upon the engagement of the cage with the landing, and means operable by a car moved onto the cage track for releasing the second-mentioned means whereby the first-mentioned means may again act to return the stop to normal closed position over the track.

3. in a safety apparatus, the combination withv a lift cage having a track section, and alanding having a sump block, of a stop member, a rock arm connected with the stopV member, a shaft keyed to the rock arm, means carried by the shaft and engageable with the sump block for rotating the shaft and swinging the stop into open vposition upon the engagement of the cage with the landing, and means carried by the cage and engageable by a car which is being moved onto the cage for effecting the return ofthe stop to closed position.

f 4;. In a safety apparatus, the combination Awith a lift cage having atrack section, and

av landing having a sump block, of a stop, means normally holding the stop in closed positionover the track, saidmeans including a rockarm connected with the stop, a shaft on which the rock arm is keyed, a weight connectedto theshaft for normally holding the rock larm in horizontal position,

a crank freely mounted on the shaft, a clutchA on the shaft, yieldable means holding the clutch in engagement with thecrank where#` by the crank is 'normally locked to the shaftp said' crank being engageablewith the sump i block when the cage engages the landing for rotatingthe shaft with a resultant swinging of the rock arm andfmovement of the stop to open position, and a trip member normally extending above the track section and engageable by .the wheel o-f an von-coming car for releasing the clutch from engagement with lthe crank, whereby the weight may swing downwardly to return the stop to normal closed position overthe track.

5. The combination of a lift cage, a landing having a sump block, a rock shaft mounted on the cage, a stop member mounted on the cage, connections between the stop member and the rockshaft, means Vacting upon the rock shaft to normally hold the stop member in closed position, a crank arm adapted to engage the sump block, means for locking saidV crank arm to the rock shaft wherebyv the engagement ofthe crank arm with the sump block will move the stop member to open position, and means for releasing the crank arm from the Vrock shaft whereby the stop4 member may return to Aadapted to engage the sumpblock and be locked to the rock shaft by the clutch mem ber whereby to Vswing the stop into open position at the side of the track section,`

means for releasing the clutch member from the operating arm, and means acting on the rock shaft to move thel stop member to closed Vposition over the track section when the clutch member is released.

ln testimony whereof I-afrix my signature in presence of two witnesses. l

Y .JUHN L. CLARKSON. [Ls] Witnesses:

J. R. GREER, W. T. LEWIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ive cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents.Y Washington, D. C. 

